NK Girls Lacrosse Topples Barrington In State Championship Upset

The North Kingstown girls lacrosse team snapped Barrington's title streak yesterday to take the state championships in a huge upset. The 10-4 win by the Skippers was the first loss this season for the Barrington Eagles, who defeated NK 15-12 about three weeks ago.

"The seniors on North Kingstown played a mature game and exploited every weakness they could find," Barrington head coach Peter Brock said of the senior-laden Skippers' team.

North Kingstown's goalie, senior Katy Vincent, was the difference in the game, making several phenomenal saves and protecting the Skippers lead all game long. NK's offense gave Vincent a hefty cushion with 10 goals, outscoring Barrington 6-2 in the second half.

Skippers co-captain, Julia Smiley was a distributor all game long, finishing with one goal and four assists. Fellow captain Chloe Read and freshman Victoria Deangelis scored the first two goals of the game, both assisted by Smiley.

With just over ten minutes left in the first half, Eagles freshman Madeline Soutter fired it into the back of the net, cutting their deficit to 2-1.

North Kingstown seniors Abby Gannon and Emma Coppola found the back of the net, increasing the lead to 4-1. Eagles junior Catherine Coogan scored with a minute left in the half, trimming NK's lead to 4-2.

Vincent made some key saves throughout the entire first half, shutting down the Eagles attack. She made several stops on breakaways, keeping her team in the lead and nabbing herself the MVP trophy at the end of the game.

"The goalie made some very important saves in the first half," Eagles coach Peter Brock said.

"She played out of her head and she kept improving as the year went on," North Kingstown head coach Keith Higgins said.

Through 11 minutes of play in the second half, the Skippers outscored the Eagles 4-1, increasing their lead to 8-3 and dominated possession the entire second half.

Smiley scored and assisted on a goal during the 4-1 stretch to open the second half. After a goal by Cameron MacDonald, Barrington's deficit stood at 8-4 with 12 minutes remaining.

There would not be an improbable comeback in this game. Deangelis scored her second and third goals of the game putting the game out of reach. North Kingstown won the game 10-4 and are crowned state champions.

"We had an undefeated season with a young team and I am very proud of these kids," said Brock.

Higgins spoke about the play of his seniors and their motivation to win a championship. "The girls were driven the entire year," he said, "My senior class lost in overtime as sophomores and they used that as motivation."

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